Toothbrush And Method Of Making The Same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a toothbrush and a method making the same. The toothbrush includes a handle including a handheld portion and a brush head portion, and a cleaning member fixedly connected with the brush head portion. The cleaning member includes a plurality of bristles and a bristle plate formed by integral melting of the bottom of the plurality of bristles and is fixedly connected with the brush head portion. The bristles are closely arranged and the bottom thereof is melted to form the bristle plate, with the unmelted portions erected on the bristle plate. The integral adhesion force of the bristles is enhanced, and the cleaning area between the bristles and the teeth is increased, thereby facilitating cleaning of the teeth. The toothbrush features a simple process of manufacturing and low costs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention belongs to the field of oral care products, in particular to a toothbrush and a method of preparing the same.

BACKGROUND

Toothbrush is a commonly used oral nursing material. As shown in FIG. 1, a toothbrush generally includes a handle and a brush head 3 from which bristles generally formed as a plurality of tufts 4 protrude. The brush head includes a support formed by an elastic material and having a plurality of fixing holes. Each bristle tuft 4 is fixed in the fixing hole of the brush head through a metal sheet of the support, due to which heavy metal pollution may occur to some extent. In a toothbrush of such a structure, since the diameter of each fixing hole is large, the bristle tuft 4 embedded therein is large, and it is easy to cause damage to a user's oral cavity during brushing. Meanwhile, since the gap between tufts is large, the brush head of a fixed size has a small amount of bristles or a small bristle area, and the area of the brush head cannot be effectively utilized. The existing bristles have a large diameter and are liable to damage user's gingiva. Such a toothbrush causes inconvenience to children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with bleeding gingiva. In addition, the existing toothbrush manufacturing process is relatively complicated and costly.

SUMMARY

In order to solve one or more of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a toothbrush and a method of making the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a toothbrush is provided, comprising a handle and a cleaning member, the handle comprising a handheld portion and a brush head portion, the handheld portion being connected with the brush head portion, and the cleaning member being fixedly connected with the brush head portion, wherein the cleaning member comprises a plurality of bristles and a bristle plate, the bristle plate being formed by means of integral melting of the bottom of the plurality of the bristles, and the bristle plate being fixedly connected with the brush head portion.

Since a plurality of bristles is closely arranged and the bottom thereof is integrally melted into a bristle plate, that is, the bottom of the bristles is melted into a flat surface, and the unmelted portions are erected on the bristle plate, the adhesion of the overall bristles is enhanced. Even if the bristles are small in diameter, the bristles will not be easy to fall off. At the same time, the number of bristles on a brush head of the same size is increased, thereby increasing the cleaning area of the surface between the bristles and the teeth, which is conducive to tooth cleaning. In addition, the toothbrush can be made by a simple process with low cost.

In some embodiments, the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion fixed to the periphery of the bottom plate. The bottom plate forms an accommodating space with the raised portion, and the bottom of the bristle plate is placed in the accommodating space and fixedly connected with the bottom plate. Thus, the bottom plate and the raised portion form an accommodating space in which the cleaning member is placed, which facilitates the placement and fixation of the entire cleaning member.

In some embodiments, the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion, a neck is provided in the middle of the raised portion, with which the peripheral edge of the bristle plate can be engaged, and the bottom of the bristle plate is fixedly connected with the bottom plate. Since a neck is provided in the middle of the raised portion, the entire cleaning member will not be detached easily after the peripheral edge of the bristle plate is fitted with the neck. The bottom of the bristle plate is further fixedly connected with the bottom plate, which can further strengthen the fixing between the cleaning member and the brush head and prevent the cleaning member from detachment which will reduce the service life of the toothbrush.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the bristle plate is 0.1-2.0 mm, and the height of the accommodating space is equal to the thickness of the bristle plate. Since the bristle plate is melted and bonded from the bottom of the bristles, the thickness of the bristle plate makes the bristles strong in adhesion, and filament breakage is not easy to occur. A bigger thickness will render filament breakage occurring frequently. The height of the accommodating space being equal to the thickness of the bristles can facilitate the placement of the cleaning member. If the height of the accommodating space is larger than the thickness of the bristle plate, a certain space may readily present in the accommodating space, which cause ponding and increasing of bacterial growth. If the height of the accommodating space is smaller than the thickness of the bristle plate, the bristle plate will protrude outside the accommodating space and affect the appearance.

In some embodiments, the bristles may have a diameter of 0.05-0.25 mm, which provides softer bristles than the existing bristle diameter and make user comfortable in cleaning the teeth. It is therefore more conducive to the use of children, pregnant women and patients with oral diseases having bleeding gingiva under friction. Under the premise of effectively preventing gingiva bleeding and gingiva damage, the toothbrush made of bristles having such a diameter has the greatest degree of cleaning of the teeth.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for making a toothbrush is provided, comprising:

vertically placing a plurality of bristles having a diameter of 0.05-0.25 mm in a metal mold and heating the same to 230-500° C., wherein the bottom of the bristles is integrally melted into a bristle plate in the metal mold, and the bristles and the bristle plate integrally form a cleaning member; and

preparing a handle comprising a handheld portion and a brush head portion, the handheld portion is connected with the brush head portion, and the bottom of the bristle plate is fixed to the brush head portion.

Since a plurality of bristles is closely arranged and the bottom thereof is melted into an integral bristle plate and the unmelted portions are erected on the bristle plate, the overall adhesion of the bristles is enhanced. Even if the bristles are small in diameter, the bristles will not be fall off easily. Meanwhile, the number of bristles on a brush head of the same size is increased, thereby increasing the cleaning area of the interface between the bristles and the teeth, which is conducive to tooth cleaning. Since the diameter of the bristles is 0.05-0.25 mm, it is softer than the existing bristle diameter, which can make user comfortable when cleaning the teeth, thus is more conducive to the use of children, pregnant women and those with bleeding gingiva.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the bristle plate is 0.1-2.0 mm. Since the bristle plate is melted and bonded from the bottom of the bristles, the adhesion force of the bristles is the strongest when the thickness of the bristle plate is 0.1-2.0 mm, and filament breakage is not readily to occur. A bigger thickness will render filament breakage occurring frequently.

In some embodiments, the bristles are placed vertically in the metal mold and heated to 400° C. Since the bristle plate is melted and bonded from the bottom of the bristles, the bristles exhibit the strongest adhesion when the heating temperature is 400° C., and filament breakage is not readily to occur. A lower or higher temperature will render filament breakage occur frequently.

In some embodiments, the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion fixed to the periphery of the bottom plate. The bottom plate forms an accommodating space with the raised portion, and the cleaning member is placed in the accommodating space. The bottom of the bristle plate is bonded to the bottom plate with an adhesive or fixed to the bottom plate by ultrasonic welding.

In some embodiments, the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion, a neck is provided in the middle of the raised portion, the peripheral edge of the bristle plate is embedded in the neck, and the bottom of the bristle plate is injection-bonded to the bottom plate.

The toothbrush made according to the present invention has a large number of bristles and good bristle softness. The bristle plate and the bristles are integrally implanted into the brush head by melt-bonding the bottom of the bristles to form the bristle plate. The entire process does not require any metal sheet, thus reducing the occurrence of metal contamination. Meanwhile, the toothbrush has better cleanliness while providing effectively preventing gingiva bleeding and gingiva damage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an example of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of a cleaning member of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of a brush head portion of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A toothbrush and a method of making the same in the present invention will be further described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 10.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 10, a toothbrush is provided comprising a handle 2 and a cleaning member 1. The handle 2 includes a handheld portion 202 and a brush head portion 201. The handheld portion 202 is connected with the brush head portion 201. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning member 1 is fixedly connected with the brush head portion 201. The cleaning member 1 includes a plurality of bristles 101 and a bristle plate 102. The bristle plate 102 is integrally formed by melting the bottom of the plurality of bristles 101. The bottom of the bristle plate 102 is fixedly connected with the top of the brush head portion 201. The fixed connection method can be direct injection bonding by placing into a mold or adhesive bonding or ultrasonic welding. The bristles 101 may be made of nylon yarn, which has high hardness and good durability. The bristle 101 has a diameter of 0.05 to 0.25 mm. Since the plurality of bristles 101 is closely arranged, the bottom thereof is integrally melted into the bristle plate 102 and the unmelted portions are erected on the bristle plate 102, thus enhancing adhesion of the overall bristles 101, and the pulling force of the bristles 101 is greater than that of the existing toothbrush bristles clamped through metal clips. Since the bristles 101 are thermally welded to each other to form the bristle plate 102, the detachment of the bristles 101 can be prevented more reliably. Even if each of the bristles 101 has a small diameter, they are not easily detached. Meanwhile, the number of bristles 101 is increased at the brush head 201 of the same size. For example, there are typically 50 filaments inside a brush hole of an existing toothbrush head. Taking 30 brush holes as an example, the number of bristles of one toothbrush is 1500 filaments. When the diameter of bristles 101 according to the present invention is 0.07 mm, the number of bristles 101 per square centimeter is 25000, and the density greatly exceeds that of the existing toothbrush. Taking the above-mentioned brush head with 30 brush holes as an example, the number of bristles 101 on the brush head of the same size in the present invention is 50,000, which greatly increases the area of effective brushing. That is, the density of the bristles 101 on the brush head portion 201 is increased, thereby increasing the direct cleaning area of the bristles 101 and the teeth, which is advantageous for the cleaning of the teeth. Further, the bristles 101 have a diameter of 0.05 to 0.25 mm, which is softer than the diameter of the existing bristles 101, and can be operated in a narrow portion such as a tooth neck or an interdental portion. A good brushing performance in the flat portion of the tooth and good effect of removing the whole tooth tartar can thus be provided. Meanwhile, users will feel comfortable when cleaning their teeth, and hence the toothbrush is more conducive to the use of children, pregnant women and those with bleeding gingiva. The effect is particularly good when the diameter of the bristles 101 is 0.07 mm. That is, under the premise of effectively preventing gingiva bleeding and gingiva damage, the toothbrush made from the bristles 101 having a diameter of 0.07 mm has the greatest degree of cleaning of the teeth and the highest rate of dental plaque removal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the brush head portion 201 includes a bottom plate 2011 and a raised portion 2012 fixed to the periphery of the bottom plate 2011. The bottom plate 2011 and the raised portion 2012 form an accommodating space 2013. The bottom of the bristle plate 102 is placed in the accommodating space 2013 and is fixedly connected to the bottom plate 2011. The bottom plate 2011 and the raised portion 2012 may also be integrally formed. The bottom plate 2011 and the raised portion 2012 form the accommodating space 2013 in which the cleaning member 1 is placed. This makes it easier to place and secure the entire cleaning member 1.

The thickness of the bristle plate 102 is 0.1-2.0 mm. The height of the accommodating space 2013 is equal to the thickness of the bristle plate 102. Since the bristle plate 102 is melt-bonded from the bottom of the bristles 101, when the thickness of the bristle plate 102 is 0.1-2.0 mm, the bristles 101 have a strong adhesive force and are not easily broken. The height of the accommodating space 2013 being equal to the thickness of the bristle plate 102 can facilitate the placement of the cleaning member 1. If the height of the accommodating space 2013 is greater than the thickness of the bristle plate 102, the accommodating space 2013 will have certain space which renders foreign matter remaining and water accumulated, thus increasing bacterial growth. If the height of the accommodating space 2013 is smaller than the thickness of the bristle plate 102, the bristle plate 102 will protrude outside the accommodating space 2013, which makes appearance deteriorate.

As shown in FIG. 6, in order to further strengthen the fixing between the cleaning member 1 and the brush head portion 201, a neck 2014 may be provided in the middle of the raised portion 2012. The peripheral edge of the bristle plate 102 can be engaged with the neck 2014. The bottom of the bristle plate 102 is fixedly connected to the bottom plate 2011. The neck 2014 is provided in the middle of the raised portion 2012. After the peripheral edge of the bristle plate 102 is fitted to the neck 2014, the entire cleaning member 1 will not bliable to be detached. Then the bottom of the bristle plate 102 is fixedly connected to the bottom plate 2011, which can further enhance the fixing strength between the cleaning member 1 and the brush head portion 201 and prevent the cleaning member 1 from detachment to shorten the life of the toothbrush.

As shown in FIG. 4, in order to improve the entry of the tip into the interdental portion and the stem portion, the bristles 101 as a whole can form an arc.

As shown in FIG. 5, in order to improve the entry of the tip into the interdental portion and the stem portion, the tip end of the bristles 101 may be tapered.

As shown in FIG. 9, in order to improve the entry of tip into the interdental portion and the stem portion of tooth, the entire side surface of the bristles 101 can be formed into a V-shaped structure.

As shown in FIG. 10, the bristle plate 102 and the brush head portion 201 can also be fixed by a reinforcing post 203.

In summary, since the toothbrush of the present invention has an integral structure of the bristles 101 and the bristle plate 102 of the cleaning member 1 and the thickness of the bristle plate 102 is small, the overall thickness of the cleaning member 1 is small. When it is combined with the brush head portion 201, the brush head portion 201 need not be thick. Thus, the toothbrush has good operability in the oral cavity, and improves the ability of the bristle plate 102 to reach a dangerous part of a dental patient and the ability to remove the tartar from therefrom. In addition, the bristle plate 102 has a smaller diameter and is more likely to enter narrow portions between the interdental portion, the teeth and the gingiva. Therefore, compared with a conventional toothbrush, the removal effect of tartar or the like can be improved, the cleaning performance is excellent, and the comfort is good.

The method for making a toothbrush comprises the following steps.

A plurality of bristles 101 having a diameter of 0.05-0.25 mm are placed vertically in a metal mold and heated to 230-500° C. The bottom of the bristles 101 is integrally melted into a bristle plate 102 in the metal mold. The thickness of the bristle plate 102 is 0.1-2.0 mm. At this time, the bristles 101 and the bristle plate 102 integrally form a cleaning member 1. Since the bristle plate 102 is melt-bonded with the bottom of the bristles 101, the bonding force of the bristles 101 is strong when the heating temperature is 400° C., and filament breakage is less likely to occur. A lower or higher temperature will cause a more obvious filament breakage or detachment.

A handle 2 is prepared, including a handheld portion 202 and a brush head portion 201. The handheld portion 202 is connected with the brush head portion 201. The bottom of the bristle plate 102 is fixed to the brush head portion 201. The brush head portion 201 includes a bottom plate 2011 and a raised portion 2012 fixed to the periphery of the bottom plate 2011. The bottom plate 2011 is integrally injection molded with the raised portion 2012 and forms an accommodating space 2013. The cleaning member 1 is placed in the accommodating space 2013. The bottom of the bristle plate 102 is directly injection-bonded to the bottom plate 2011 by placing into a mold or bonded to the bottom plate 2011 through an adhesive, or is fixed to the bottom plate 2011 by ultrasonic welding.

In order to further strengthen the bonding force, the brush head portion 201 includes a bottom plate 2011 and a raised portion 2012. A neck 2014 is provided in the middle of the raised portion 2012. The peripheral edge of the bristle plate 102 is embedded in the neck 2014. The bottom of the bristle plate 102 is injection molded and bonded to the bottom plate 2011.

Since the plurality of bristles 101 is closely arranged and the bottom thereof is integrally melted into the bristle plate 102 and the unmelted portions are erected on the bristle plate 102, thus the overall adhesion of the bristles 101 is enhanced. Even if the bristles 101 are small in diameter, it is not readily to suffer from bristle detachment. Meanwhile, the number of bristles 101 is increased on a brush head of the same size, thereby increasing the direct cleaning area of the bristles 101 and the teeth, which is beneficial to the cleaning of the teeth. In addition, the diameter of the bristles 101 is 0.05-0.25 mm, which is softer than the bristles 101 of an existing diameter, and can provide comfort to the user while cleaning the teeth, and is more beneficial to children, pregnant women and patients with oral diseases having bleeding gingiva under friction.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The strength and performance of toothbrushes formed from bristles of different diameters are evaluated below.

(1) Specifications of the Toothbrush in the Evaluation

Bristles are placed in a metal mold and the bottom thereof is heated to 400° C. and melted into a bristle plate. The thickness of the bristle plate is the same, the length of each bristle protruding on the bristle plate is equal, and the diameter of the bristles is as shown in Table 1.

(2) Strength Evaluation Method

Test method: the brush head of the toothbrush is fixed, a pulling force is applied with the same equipment, and the force is recorded when the bristles are pulled to break or pulled off, that is, their strength.

(3) Method of Evaluation on Dental Plaque Removal Rate

Test method: 10 subjects brush their teeth for 3 minutes in the same manner using various toothbrushes, and the amount of spot adhesion before and after brushing of the full-mouth tooth surface is measured. The conventional methods are as follows: first, dental plaque recording before brushing is made: before brushing, the subject first rinses with clean water, coats the tooth surface with a cotton swab having a volume fraction of 2% basic magenta, rinses mouth after stagnation for 1 minute, and then checks and fills in a plaque record card. The recording method is as follows: four surfaces of the tooth under test (lip side, lingual side, mesial side, and distal side) are recorded. The tooth surface showing the presence of dental plaque can be indicated by “-” in the space of a corresponding part of the record card. Secondly, plaque recording after brushing: after the brushing of each group is done: the same examiner checks the dental plaque of the tooth surface of the subject, and fills in the dental plaque record card. Then, statistical processing is performed to calculate the removal rate (%), where: dental plaque percentage=dental plaque tooth surface/total tooth surface number □×100%; dental plaque removal rate=1−percentage of plaque after brushing/percentage of plaque before brushing on the tooth surface; the results are shown in Table 1.

(4) Oral Comfortable Sensation

Test method: 10 subjects brush their teeth with various toothbrushes for 3 minutes, and then the comfortable sensation of the toothbrushes is evaluated by their sensory.

(5) Comparative Example 1

There are 30 brush holes in the head of the toothbrush, there are generally 50 filaments inside each brush hole, the total number of bristles of the toothbrush is 1500 filaments, and the diameter of the filament is 0.30 mm.

TABLE 1 Bristle Bristle Dental plaque Oral diameter retaining removal rate comfortable (mm) intensity (N) (%) sensation Embodiment 1 0.05 18.1 73% very good Embodiment 2 0.07 20.3 79% very good Embodiment 3 0.075 21.2 78% very good Embodiment 4 0.08 21.1 73% very good Embodiment 5 0.09 21.7 74% good Embodiment 6 0.10 21.5 72% good Embodiment 7 0.25 21.5 70% good Comparative 0.30 19.4 68% Fair example 1

The above only gives some embodiments of the present invention. Other variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the inventive concept, which is within the scope of the present invention. 

1. A toothbrush, comprising a handle and a cleaning member, the handle comprising a handheld portion and a brush head portion, the handheld portion being connected with the brush head portion, and the cleaning member being fixedly connected with the brush head portion, characterized in that the cleaning member comprises a plurality of bristles and a bristle plate, the bristle plate being formed by means of integral melting of the bottom of the plurality of the bristles, and the bristle plate being fixedly connected with the brush head portion.
 2. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion fixed to the periphery of the bottom plate, the bottom plate forms an accommodating space with the raised portion, and the bottom of the bristle plate is placed in the accommodating space and fixedly connected with the bottom plate.
 3. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion, a neck is provided in the middle of the raised portion, the peripheral edge of the bristle plate being capable of engaging with the neck, and the bottom of the bristle plate being fixedly connected with the bottom plate.
 4. The toothbrush according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the bristle plate is 0.1-2.0 mm, and the height of the accommodating space is equal to the thickness of the bristle plate.
 5. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the bristles have a diameter of 0.05-0.25 mm.
 6. A method for making a toothbrush according to claim 1, comprising: vertically placing a plurality of bristles having a diameter of 0.05-0.25 mm in a metal mold and heating same to 230-500° C., wherein the bottom of the bristles is integrally melted into a bristle plate in the metal mold, and the bristles and the bristle plate integrally form a cleaning member; and preparing a handle, wherein the handle comprises a handheld portion and a brush head portion, the handheld portion is connected with the brush head portion, and the bottom of the bristle plate is fixed to the brush head portion.
 7. The method for making a toothbrush according to claim 6, wherein the thickness of the bristle plate is 0.1-2.0 mm.
 8. The method for making a toothbrush according to claim 6, wherein the bristles are placed vertically in the metal mold and heated to 400° C.
 9. The method for making a toothbrush according to claim 6, wherein the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion fixed to the periphery of the bottom plate, the bottom plate forms an accommodating space with the raised portion, the cleaning member is placed in the accommodating space, the bottom of the bristle plate is placed into the mold to be directly injection-bonded or boned with an adhesive to the bottom plate or fixed to the bottom plate by ultrasonic welding.
 10. The method for making a toothbrush according to claim 6, wherein the brush head portion comprises a bottom plate and a raised portion, a neck is provided in the middle of the raised portion, the peripheral edge of the bristle plate is embedded in the neck, and the bottom of the bristle plate is injection-bonded to the bottom plate. 